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The Odyssey is out for testing. No, we are waiting for OEM versions to be tested. No, we just received a O-1000 for testing?????????? Mixed messages???????
Dion Cool Review No battery problems???
Dioneer rolls out some competition for the iRiver SlimX.
http://gear.ign.com/articles/383/383729p1.html
January 24, 2003 - Until now it's pretty much been the iRiver SlimX running the show. It wasn't the first MP3 CD player to hit the streets, but it took the form to new heights. Tons of features, great sound, and good value, recommending one was a no-brainer. A few companies responded with some nice players, but nothing could really touch it. It wasn't until the SlimX 2 was released that a better device came along. Now Dioneer, also know as the company with the funniest name, is taking a shot at the champ.
The Dion Cool (AKA DCP-400) is the company's new flagship MP3 CD player. As such, it's an incredibly well endowed player. The influence of the SlimX is obvious from the basic design to the telltale external battery pack, but Dioneer added a few things of their own. For instance, the Cool is the first MP3 CD portable to feature SRS sound processing. And all things considered, the Cool is quite an impressive device. It can't quite keep up with the SlimX, but you should give it a look if you're searching for a new MP3 CD player, especially if you're on a budget.
As you can see, the designers obviously took a good look at the SlimX portables before setting to work on the Cool. The main unit has only the most basic controls on it, with most of the features accessible only through the remote. The remote itself is large with a backlit, four-line LCD, several buttons, and two scroll levers. And then there is the battery pack, which is external and houses two AAs. Sound familiar? It should. The Cool is also about the same size as the SlimX players. It's actually a bit smaller near the hinge, but negligibly so. I have no problem with obvious influences and think Dioneer played it pretty smart with the overall design.
The main unit has an unadorned faceplate. On the front you'll find an open slider and toward the left you'll find six small buttons: volume up, volume down, previous track/reverse scan, next track/forward scan, stop/off, and play/pause/on. The bottom of the player has a simple hold slider, which thankfully acts independently from the remote hold switch.
The remote is squarish and a little larger than iRiver's. The four-line LCD shows track count, current track number, elapsed time, play mode, EQ/SRS mode, general tag info (artist, track, etc.), bookmarks, next track, file format, bitrate, battery life, and has a small spectrum analyzer. You can also have it show simply the track name and a large spectrum analyzer, but it's more fun to look at all the little specs. As you might guess, the text is outlandishly small. The case is the same with iRiver players, and is pretty much unavoidable on such a small but well equipped device.
I mentioned that the menu system isn't quite as robust as the SlimX's. While this is certainly true, Dioneer provides the user with an adequate amount of options. The only problem, and this is strange, is that the most basic navigation is unusual. You can't for instance, simply go to the root directory, select an entire folder, and then start playing it. You can bookmark things and then work through your bookmarks, or you can simply alphabetize all your tracks and the move directly to either one, but you can't directly play an entire folder. I think this is a silly way to organize things, especially considering how many tracks you can have on a disc. This is really the only problem with general usage. With hope this is something that Dioneer can remedy with a firmware update. (Hint, hint, Dioneer.)
As far as sound quality, Dioneer hit their stride with the Cool. The unit sounds clear as a bell and can play very loudly. There are more powerful portable out there, but the Cool holds its own. And if things aren't loud enough for you in normal mode, then you can always push things up with the SRS processing. I usually skip the DSPs as a matter of course, but I must admit that the 3D and TruBass sound pretty good on a portable. I wouldn't run it on a home system, but on the go with some headphones it works pretty well. Just make sure you have headphones that can handle the extra bass without farting out. You should also be warned that the Cool will distort should you turn it up all the way and then activate the SRS sound. However, that scenario is outrageously loud.
In the intro I alluded to an affordable price. Oddly, I couldn't find the MSRP on the official site and have no contact at the company; the player mysteriously showed up in my mailbox. However, I found it online today for $140.00, which is a good deal cheaper than the SlimX 2 and even a bit cheaper than the SlimX. This makes the Cool a very good value. This doesn't make up for the awkward navigation, but it still makes it a solid value.
Conclusion
The Cool has a lot to offer for a reasonable amount of money. If you can afford the additional $50.00-$60.00 for the SlimX 2, then go for that. I even prefer the original SlimX over the Cool, if for no other reason than iRiver's outstanding menu system and sheer amount of options. However, the Cool has a good spread of options, sounds great, has SRS processing, and is very compact. If you think you can live without the incredibly detailed system of options found in iRiver portables, then go for the Cool and you'll be set.
Recommended.
-- M. Wiley
Performance
Excellent sound and SRS processing. Good battery life and a decent menu system. 8.5
Build Quality
The body itself feels a little thin, but the whole thing is well designed and the remote is excellent. 8.5
Value
A little cheap than either SlimX and almost as good as both. An excellent deal... If you can find one. 8.5
Features
Pretty much what you'd expect from a high-end MP3 CD player. You also get the SRS processing, which sounds pretty good, hard as it is for me to admit that. The only problem is the strange menu system, which makes some basic features difficult to use. 7.0
Overall Rating (Not an average) 8.5
iRiver America Announces Advanced Flash-Memory Player iFP-195T
Tuesday February 11, 8:07 am ET
iFP-195T Features 512MB of Memory for Up to 17 Hours* of Audio Storage
SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- iRiver, the emerging global leader in portable digital audio devices, today announced the unveiling of its iFP-195T, the most feature rich and largest capacity flash-based memory player on the market. As the latest addition to iRiver's successful line of compressed audio devices -- iFP-120, iFP-140, iFP-180T and iFP-190T -- the iFP-195T comes standard with 512MB of internal memory and offers consumers the ability to record straight from its FM tuner.
"The iFP-195T is an excellent music device for action sports, the gym or traveling," said Jonathan Sasse, marketing director at iRiver America. "The iFP-195T comes bundled with Sennheiser MX300 earphones, a sports armband and plays up to 20 hours on a single AA battery. And, users can store all types of files when it's used as a portable drive. These new features underscore iRiver's commitment to making innovative products that are at the forefront of consumers' design, performance and pricing expectations."
The iFP-195T plays MP3, WMA and ASF music files and holds up to 17 hours of music and audio files. The iFP-195T is loaded with features, including a built-in FM tuner and the exclusive voice record and FM tuner record functionality. The player is also compatible with the latest version of the MoodLogic Software that offers an intuitive solution for users to create mixes based on genre, mood and tempo rather than simply by artist and track names.
The iFP-190T announced at CES earlier this year received the "Best Buy" and number one ranking in the Flash-Media Player Category from PC World in the March 2003 issue. The iFP-195T builds on the feature set and functionality of the iFP-190T, while doubling internal memory capacity.
iFP-195T Features:
-- 512MB internal storage
-- Supports MP3, WMA, and ASF music files
-- Integrated digital FM tuner with presets
-- Record from FM tuner directly to player
-- Built-in voice recorder
-- iRiver Music Manager for music transfers
-- Supports file transfers from MoodLogic music software
-- Weighs only 32 grams (without battery)
-- Ultra small design (82 x 32 x 28 mm)
-- USB transfer speeds boosted up to 6.4 Mbps
Pricing and Availability
The iFP-195T is available now at www.iriveramerica.com and will be shipping to retail and online stores by March 2003. Suggested retail price is USD $349.99.
About iRiver
iRiver is the emerging global leader in delivering advanced portable digital audio devices. iRiver provides consumers with listening and recording flexibility to accommodate their active lifestyles by manufacturing award- winning hybrid products supporting existing and emerging formats, including MP3, WMA, ASF, AAC and QDX. San Jose-based iRiver America, Inc. can be found on the Web at www.iriveramerica.com.
17 hours of music playback are measured using Windows Media music files at 64 kbps compression rate.
iRiver America and SlimX are registered trademarks of iRiver America, Inc. All other registered or unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Gary Byrd of Nadel Phelan, Inc., +1-831-440-2414, or gary@nadelphelan.com, for iRiver America, Inc.; or Jonathan Sasse of iRiver America, Inc., +1-408-452-7960, or jsasse@iriveramerica.com.
Oldie but goodie.........
April 21, 1999
Lucent, e.Digital To Create Downloadable Music Device
e.Digital Corp., Lucent Technologies and Texas Instruments said Wednesday they will jointly develop a new handheld device enabling users to listen to downloaded music from the Internet.
e.Digital will manufacture the device, which will integrate Lucent's Enhanced Perceptual Audio Coder with e.Digital's patented MicroOS file management system.
The device employs a new class of Digital Signal Processors (DSP) manufactured by Texas Instruments. Different from other handheld devices on the market, the device plays EPAC files instead of using the MP3 format.
"Our new DSP is a new class of processor for a new market," said Gary Johnson, worldwide manager of DSPs for Texas Instruments.
EPAC is a new version of the Perceptual Audio Coder developed by Lucent's Bell Labs. The coder is an audio compression algorithm with high-quality audio at the low bit rates. At 128 kilobits per second and a compression rate of 11 to 1, EPAC is said to be similar to CD-transparent stereo sound.
"The quality of the sound that we've heard with EPAC on our hardware platform is exceptional," said Fred Falk, CEO of e.Digital. "We know what people want in an Internet music download player; great sound in a compact device that's robust and well-priced. We are pleased to team with Lucent and Texas Instruments to provide a high-quality, secure solution for the exploding Internet music market."
"We are taking the current generation of hand-held players to the highest levels of audio quality and design," said Joyce Eastman, director of audio for Lucent's New Ventures Group. "We have produced what we believe will be a solid design for an EPAC player that offers high levels of security with excellent sound quality."
Lucent said it is working in tandem with the recording industry and is a member of the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), the industry group responsible for developing an open, secure access system for digital music.
SGE
Lucent Technologies provides speech recognition software for e.Digital's new MXP 100 digital music & voice player
FOR RELEASE MONDAY NOVEMBER 05, 2001
e.Digital introduces VoiceNav™, the first spoken-word recognition and navigation interface for portable devices
SAN DIEGO, CA - e.Digital Corporation (OTC: EDIG), a global provider of comprehensive digital product development and designs, and Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) today announced their collaboration on a speech interface for portable electronic devices. e.Digital's VoiceNav™ voice navigation interface was developed utilizing a voice recognition engine from Bell Labs' Advanced Technologies, a division of Lucent's research and development arm, which pioneered speech recognition technology.
VoiceNav is now available to consumers for the first time in e.Digital's new MXP 100 portable digital music and voice recorder/player, which features hands-free navigation using spoken word commands. e.Digital also incorporates Texas Instruments' low-power TMS320C54x™ digital signal processor (DSP) into the MXP 100's design, facilitating an advanced feature set, and providing compatibility between various software and firmware components.
"The consumer launch of the MXP 100, the first portable product to feature an interface based on our speech recognition engine, could create a new market and other opportunities for Lucent's speech recognition technology," commented Monte Stimmel, licensing manager in the Technology Licensing Solutions group at Lucent. "Drawing on e.Digital's expertise in low power, small footprint applications, we are able to support more than 100,000 words and names in their music player, plus flexibility for English words or sounds not in the dictionary. We expect this to be the first of many voice recognition applications for portable devices, and we are enthusiastic about the potential to work with e.Digital on additional product opportunities."
"We are pleased to team with Lucent on this exciting breakthrough for portable digital music players," said Fred Falk, president and CEO of e.Digital. "Their voice recognition engine, tailored by our engineers with our MicroOS™ 2.0 audio file management system, produces a natural speech interface for portable devices."
Falk continued, "VoiceNav's fast response, expansive English vocabulary, and speaker-independent recognition of artist, band, album, and track names, will provide end users with easy access to a complete portable, personal audio library, and allow virtually hands-free operation of the MXP 100. With VoiceNav, users can navigate through the storage media, open folders, and play stored music or voice tracks without touching a button. They can create up to 100 music folders containing up to 100 tracks each and navigate through them simply by saying their titles aloud."
e.Digital's MXP™ Music Explorer software, shipped with the MXP 100, is the gateway to using the company's VoiceNav interface on the MXP 100. Music Explorer's user-friendly PC interface insures that track titles and artist or album information from digital music tracks are saved and transferred to the MXP 100 as recognizable phrases. The software allows users to transfer and organize enough music content to fill any hard disk drive (HDD) based portable jukebox product.
Chris Schairbaum, worldwide marketing manager of Internet Audio at Texas Instruments, commented, "Using TI's powerful DSP technology, and Lucent's Bell Labs' speech recognition engine, e.Digital has developed a creative and innovative product. The MXP 100 demonstrates the flexibility of TI's programmable DSP and provides a glimpse of the future of consumer electronics and digital audio devices."
About Bell Labs & Lucent Technologies
With approximately 16,000 employees in 16 countries, Bell Labs is the leading source of new communications technologies. Bell Labs has generated more than 28,000 patents since 1925 and has played a pivotal role in inventing or perfecting key communications technologies, including transistors, digital networking and signal processing, lasers and fiber-optic communications systems, communications satellites, cellular telephony, electronic switching of calls, touch- tone dialing, and modems. Bell Labs scientists have received six Nobel Prizes in Physics, nine U.S. Medals of Science and six U.S. Medals of Technology. For more information about Bell Labs, visit its Web site at http://www.bell-labs.com.
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers networks for the world's largest communications service providers. Backed by Bell Labs research and development, Lucent relies on its strengths in mobility, optical, data and voice networking technologies as well as software and services to develop next-generation networks. The company's systems, services and software are designed to help customers quickly deploy and better manage their networks and create new, revenue-generating services that help businesses and consumers. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at http://www.lucent.com.
About e.Digital
e.Digital Corporation offers an engineering partnership for the world's leading electronics companies to link portable digital devices to PCs and the Internet. e.Digital develops and markets to consumer electronics manufacturers complete end-to-end solutions for delivery and management of open and secure digital media. Applications for e.Digital's technology include portable digital music players and voice recorders, desktop, laptop and handheld computers, PC peripherals, cellular phone peripherals, e-books, video games, digital cameras and digital video recorders. Engineering services range from the licensing of e.Digital's patented MicroOS™ and MicroCAM™ technologies to custom software and hardware development, industrial design and manufacturing services. For more information on the company, please visit http://www.edig.com.
# # #
Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform of 1995: This document contains forward-looking statements relating to future performance, technology and product development that may affect future results and the future viability of the company. Actual results could be affected or differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties, including future products and results, technological shifts, potential technical difficulties that could delay new products, competition, general economic factors, and conditions in the markets in which the company operates, pricing pressures, the uncertainty of market acceptance of new products and services by OEM's and end-user customers, and other factors identified and discussed in the Company's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on information and management's expectations as of the date hereof. Future results may differ materially from the Company's current expectations.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information, reporters may contact:
Rich Teplitsky
Lucent Technologies
908-582-5700
Email:rteplitsky@lucent.com
Robert Putnam
e.Digital Corporation
(858) 679-1504
Email:robert@edig.com
Bridget Stachowski
Fleishman-Hillard (Media Relations for e.Digital)
619) 237-7717
Email:stachowb@fleishman.com
Creative's Growth Prospects Drying Up
By Sai Man
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Tuesday February 11, 8:21 AM
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Creative Technology Ltd. (CREAF), long known as one of Singapore's most innovative companies, may have run out of ideas of how to drive its sales in the years ahead, analysts say, and so now is a good time to sell its stock.
"The trouble with Creative is that it lacks a long-term growth generator," said Russell Tan, an analyst at NetResearch Asia. "It can't be milking the same sound card."
Sound cards, which give computers high-quality sound, have served Creative well since the company was launched in the late 1980s and currently account for about one-third of its total sales. In recent years, however, Creative's revenue has been in a decline, sliding 35% to US$799 million in the last fiscal year ended June 30 after a 9% fall the year before.
"My biggest concern is that revenue is on a downtrend and I can't see it turning around," said Kim Eng Ong Securities analyst Dharmo Soejanto, who has a sell recommendation on the stock.
BNP Paribas Peregrine, DBS Vickers Securities and UBS Warburg are among the others with sell-equivalent ratings on the stock. NetResearch is recommending a short-term hold.
Creative's shares, which will soon be delisted from Nasdaq, closed at S$10.90 (US$1=S$1.7523) Monday in Singapore, down more than 11% so far this year as the broader market fell just 4.3%. Some analysts say its shares are still overvalued and may be worth as little as S$8.50.
The company said it intends to delist from the U.S. market after 11 years because of the high cost of maintaining the listing.
A slowdown in the global economy, particularly in the U.S. where Creative makes about 45% of its sales, accounts in part for the steady decline in the company's revenue. By the end of the current fiscal year on June 30, its total revenue may almost have halved in just three years, according to analysts.
But more than sluggish economic conditions are to blame for the company's troubles. There are some 100 million users of Creative's well-known Sound Blaster sound card and the market is saturated. Its sound cards are found in about 70% of personal computers, according to Lim Tee Wee, an analyst at UBS Warburg.
"We believe it is a struggling giant operating in an industry at a mature phase of growth. As such, future earnings expansion is likely to languish," he said.
In the second quarter ended Dec. 31, Creative posted a net profit of US$18.9 million, down 28% on year.
Jumps Back Into Computer Graphics
Analysts say that increasingly advanced PCs with sound cards or sound chips already embedded in them will reduce demand for Creative's sound cards.
"Sound cards are only for people who are really, really serious about games, or music on their PCs," said Kim Eng's Soejanto.
Not only that, consumers seem content to stay with their older sound cards, and Creative's strategy of rolling out snazzier, more expensive versions of the product may not convince them to upgrade. Its newest sound card, the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX, retails for around US$270.
To be sure, Creative has tried to diversify its earnings streams. In sound, it also makes speakers, which now account for about 24% of sales. The company continues to innovate, and last year launched a computer keyboard that can double as a musical keyboard.
Creative also has jumped back into computer graphics, an arena it first entered in 1995 before losses forced it to withdraw. In May it acquired the shares it didn't already own in U.S.-based 3DLabs Inc. for US$103.7 million, hoping to repeat the success of its sound cards by bringing 3DLabs' high-end technologies to the mass market - at mass-market prices.
3DLabs has yet to turn a profit or launch a mass-market graphics product, but Chief Executive Sim Wong Hoo said last month that he expects the unit to begin making money this calendar year.
Analysts aren't so sure.
Terence Tan, an analyst at DBS Vickers, reckons it could take another three or four quarters before 3DLabs makes a significant contribution to the company.
Creative is trying to move beyond the personal computer market by making products like MP3 players and digital cameras that appeal to a broader consumer segment.
While its consumer electronics products are showing signs of growth, analysts warn that Creative is facing much fiercer competition than it ever did selling sound cards.
"Creative is really competing with the big boys out there" in the consumer market like Sony Corp. (SNE or 6758) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Q.SSE), said one analyst. Creative doesn't have the deep pockets for marketing and advertising that these consumer electronics giants have, she said.
-By Sai Man, Dow Jones Newswires, 65-6415-4155; sai.man@dowjones.com
FWIW A call to Samsung had Yepp-900 due for sale around March, so either are currently or about getting ready for production.
RP said Lucent currently updating their voice system for other languages. The first (non English) will be available this spring. RP stated Lucent was the best in the game...no other companies were close.
He also had "no comment" on potential Motorola link (big surprise) as well as saying Digitalway and other OEM's may or may not use Voice Nav in their upcoming players. He would not address directly the Macworld article.
When I asked about the player Digitalway had at CES.....he said it was the O-1000.......as that was the only product available......at that time.
No new ground.........but still encouraging........
Motorola Shortens Design Time for Next-Generation Portable Audio Devices
New Reference Design Sets Industry Benchmark for Power Management
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Motorola, Inc.'s (NYSE: MOT) Semiconductor Products Sector is now offering a programmable reference design engineered to provide greater flexibility and faster time to market for portable audio applications.
The reference design should help manufacturers quickly deliver competitively priced, high-performance audio devices to retail shelves by the end of this year.
The reference design is driven by Motorola's SCF5249 audio controller and combines the music decoding capability of a digital signal processor (DSP) with the file system management capabilities of a microcontroller into a single chip. This configuration lowers system costs by reducing the number of components from two chips to one. It also can decrease power consumption up to 25 percent.
Audio devices developed using the new reference design can benefit from a new level of power management. The SCF5249 raises the industry benchmark of battery life from the current standard of approximately 30 hours to an anticipated life of nearly 40 hours. This is accomplished through highly optimized software code that drives the ability to dynamically change the core operating frequency depending upon the level of performance needed.
The SCF5249 supports various decoder formats, including CD-ROM, flash and hard drive. This flexibility helps manufacturers by providing one platform from which they can build various personal music players, like portable MP3 and CD-ROM. The support of various decoder formats also minimizes engineering work required, helping manufacturers get their audio products into consumers' hands faster.
Systems built from the reference design should support multiple music formats, such as MP3, WMA (Windows Music Access) and AAC (Advanced Audio Coding). These systems can include next-generation capabilities as demands dictate, such as enabling consumers to upgrade to new formats after purchase.
Motorola is partnering with Arrow Optek, an independent design house in Nan Shan, China, to offer the ready-to-build reference design with the SCF5249. Motorola also offers its own reference design for independent development of audio systems with advanced MP3 player features.
"Consumer demand for high-capacity, low-cost audio electronics is rising and manufacturers are searching for ways to increase functionality and reduce system costs without sacrificing power," said John Hansen, Motorola's Digital Audio, Radio and Telematics director of marketing. "Our reference designs can
help manufacturers get started today in developing the products consumers will be enthused to see at their favorite stores during the 2003 holiday season."
The audio reference design is based on Motorola's ColdFire architecture and includes schematics, an applications note and source code for customizable modules.
SC5249 Features
The SCF5249 and associated software development platform integrates advanced features designed to dramatically boost performance and simplify system design.
These features include:
File management and music decoders operate from a single ColdFire(R)
32-bit core to allow support for multiple decoder formats and multiple file formats. Consumers can simply "drag and drop" to place music on a disc with no waste of available disc space by finalizing an incomplete disc.
An integrated synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM)
controller allows fast, easy access to external memories. This is useful for advanced features like shock protection. The cost and time supported to add shock protection is determined by the amount of SDRAM added to the system.
A flash media interface for use in portable product applications where audio is stored in flash media, such as multimedia cards and compact flash cards.
Pricing and Availability
The SCF5249 is available from Motorola with suggested list unit pricing starting at less than $10 (USD) for 10,000-piece quantities. The Arrow Optek reference design is available immediately.
For more information on its SCF5249 reference design contact: Li Ping, CEO of Optek Electronics Corp.at leeping@optek.com.cn or (86) 0755-2651-0786.
About Motorola Semiconductors
As the world's #1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's
Semiconductor Products Sector creates DigitalDNA(TM) system-on-chip solutions for a connected world. Our strong focus on wireless communications and networking enables customers to develop smarter, simpler, safer and synchronized products for the person, work team, home and automobile.
Motorola's worldwide semiconductor sales were $4.8 billion (USD) in 2002.
For more information please visit http://www.motorola.com/semiconductors
About Motorola
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is a global leader in providing integrated communications and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2002 were $26.7 billion. Motorola is a global corporate citizen dedicated to ethical business practices and pioneering important technologies that make things smarter and life better for people, honored traditions that began when the company was founded 75 years ago this year.
For more information, please visit: http://www.motorola.com/
Reader Inquiry Response
Motorola SPS
P.O. Box 17927
Denver, CO 80217 USA
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
Intel to launch a 'digital makeover'
By Anand Parthasarathy
BANGALORE FEB. 10. The world's number one chipmaker will stop talking separately about computers and communications — and start delivering devices for the burgeoning market that lies at the meeting point of these two technologies.
According to Ketan R. Sampat, who took over last week as President of Intel's India operation, the company has planned a three-pronged tech-thrust this year to achieve what it calls a 'digital makeover' to ride the expected boom in wireless devices.
The initiative kicks off on March 12 with the launch of a bundle to be branded as "Centrino'': a chipset, a processor and a wireless networking module for notebooks and other portable computers.
At its heart will be the new Pentium-M processor, earlier codenamed "Banias'' — the first Intel chip designed bottom-up for the power-sensitive portable market, rather than tweaking one of the desktop processor family.
By putting many notebook functions `to sleep' until required, the ultra-low voltage Pentium-M promises to give up to six hours of working on a battery charge. The Centrino bundle will also give notebooks, default wireless access using the 802.11b standard.
Later this year Intel also plans to launch a brand new desktop chip family codenamed "Prescott'' involving major architectural reworking.
Little is yet known about how this will add to the desktop experience, but Mr. Sampat suggested that it might cater to wholly new ways of `talking' to the PC. Meanwhile speculation on the Internet suggests this will incorporate Intel's `hyperthreading' technology — allowing one chip to look like two to the software — as well as ramping up to the denser fabrication technology of 90 nanometers from the current 130.
Finally by year end, says Mr. Sampat, Intel will unveil "Manitoba'' — technology that will fuel new generation hand held devices which combine the functions of a mobile phone and a handheld computer.
It will achieve this by combining on board, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor and flash memory. Avtar Saini continues as Intel's Director South Asia, focussing on sales and marketing; while Mr. Sampat will oversee the research activities at Intel's Bangalore-based development centre
Digitalway is the leader in bringing innovate digital audio and multimedia device to the consumer market.
http://www.digitalway.co.kr/english/company/about.html
Founded in July 1998 by a pioneer in the MP3 industry, Digitalway is dedicated to providing leading-edge products to OEM's, distributors and end users. In Asia, including Japan and Korea, Digitalway's products are recorded as No.1 selling digital audio products. Worldwide brand market share is reported as 20%. (As of June 2002. Business Week)
Digitalway's technologies include portable music players, digital voice recorders, multi function digital still cameras, MP3 encoders, multi-function hybrid digital music devices and digital A/V products.
Digitalway is an International company.
Based on the best quality acknowledged by worldwide buyers such as Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Korea), RFC (Singapore), TEAC (Germany), BESTBUY (U.S), AKAI, ADTEC (Japan), Digitalway is manufacturing 30000-50000 digital audio equipments per month and 75% of them are released to foreign countries. Digitalway has offices and partners in Korea, the US, Germany, China, Japan and many other countries.
Digitalway manufactures products with top quality and design.
Digitalway has a hardware/software R&D center, industrial design team, two manufacturing factories, and other administrative organizations including sales and marketing.
Thanks to good design and quality, Digitalway has won KIDP design awards and best selling product awards by various domestic/international medias since 1999. Digitalway also won 2000 Korea Jang Young Shil award and designated as a Korea millennium product and a world best product in November 2001 by Korean Government
Delphi and Philips Develop Innovative Software Radio DSP
SAN JOSE, CA -- (INTERNET WIRE) -- 02/10/2003 -- Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG), (AEX: PHI) and Delphi Corp. (NYSE: DPH), have jointly developed the next generation state-of-the-art digital tuner for vehicle entertainment systems. The combination of Delphi Delco Electronics Systems’ world leadership in digital car entertainment systems and Philips’ leadership position in Car DSPs (Digital Signal Processor) will provide enhanced audio and radio reception in the car.
This next-generation tuner offers the listener clarity, enhanced noise suppression and reduces multipath channel effect, which provides consistent sound quality under dynamic reception conditions. The tuner chipset architecture also provides the interface required for the new digital-quality HD Radio features.
Philips’ Car DSP, the SAF7730, enabled Delphi to develop proprietary radio software that will provide world-class reception performance through the use of advanced DSP algorithms. The SAF7730 is a unique single-chip DSP solution with several integrated powerful DSP cores for audio and radio processing.
“Philips’ radio DSP will become a key device in Delphi’s future car radio systems,” said Bob Schumacher, business line executive for Delphi’s Wireless Business Line. “We are proud that our venture with Philips will provide our customers with excellent audio quality and will allow us to use our own software for unsurpassed radio reception performance.”
“Philips is the global leader in Car DSPs,” said Pascal Langlois, vice-president, Global Market Segment Automotive, Philips Semiconductors. “Working closely with Delphi, the market leader for vehicle mobile multimedia systems, enables both companies to benefit from huge synergies and further strengthens our market position.”
About Delphi Corp.
Delphi is a world leader in mobile electronics and transportation components and systems technology. Multi-national Delphi conducts its business operations through various subsidiaries and has headquarters in Troy, Mich., USA, Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Delphi's two business sectors -- Dynamics, Propulsion and Thermal Sector and Electrical, Electronics, Safety & Interior Sector -- provide comprehensive product solutions to complex customer needs. Delphi has approximately 192,000 employees and operates 179 wholly owned manufacturing sites, 42 joint ventures, 53 customer centers and sales offices and 32 technical centers in 41 countries. Delphi can be found on the Internet at www.delphi.com.
About Philips
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world’s biggest electronics companies and Europe’s largest, with sales of $ 28.8 billion (EUR 32.3 billion) in 2001. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring, and one-chip TV products. Its 184,000 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, and medical systems. Philips is quoted on the NYSE (symbol: PHG), London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at www.semiconductors.philips.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact: Marijke Sas - Europe
Company: Philips
Phone: 31-40-272-2091
Email: Marijke.Sas@philips.com
Contact: Paul Morrison - USA
Company: Philips
Phone: 408-474-5065
Email: Paul.Morrison@philips.com
Contact: Robyn Kao - Asia Pacific
Company: Philips
Phone: 886-2-2382-4025
Email: Robyn.Kao@philips.com
Time for some of you to change internet providers or get a new computer LOL
richardosborne Thanks! DW version "original" O1000 eom
richardosborne Yes I see it. Also can you go to post 19202 and snag a picture of old O-1000 (which is identical to HD 100 unit) and put them all together? Thanks
richardosborne Can you post a picture of "original" O 1000?tia
Gilgamash If you posted about the HD 100 I must have missed it.
MPIO-HD200 with hard drive memory up to 20 GB
Posted by: Tenderloin
In reply to: None Date:1/15/2003 12:43:14 AM
Post #of 30371
MPIO-HD200 with hard drive memory up to 20 GB.
Digitalway, the Biggest MP3P Manufacturer and 2003 CES Innovation Awards Winner Showed Various New Digital Audio Players at the CES 2003;
MP3 Players with digital still Camera / Voice Recorder/ FM Radio, Super Mini MP3 Player, PC-free
MP3 Encoder and Slim Multi Format MP3 CD Player and more (S.Hall 4 # 31191, 31193)
Las Vegas, NV / Seoul, Korea - January 9, 2003 - Digitalway Co.,Ltd, (www.mpio.com), the company behind the popular MPIO digital audio products, showed here at the CES 2003 (South Hall 4 # 31191 & 31193) new portable digital audio players and other new products that underscore the trend of digital music hard ware.
Digitalway was awarded two CES 2003 Innovations Awards, one for the currently popular MPIO DMK, and one for the newly launching MPIO FL100. The MPIO line of digital audio players have been and continue to be the number one selling MP3 players in Japan and Korea.
Two CES Innovation Awards Winners of Audio Products, MPIO-DMK and MPIO-FL100 are showed in the Digitalway's booths at #31191 and #31193 (South Hall #4, MP3 Pavilion) at CES 2003. In addition, the products will be displayed with their awards at the Las Vegas Hilton: Innovation Booth #55083 and Alexis Park Parthenon 1 Ballroom. Also, both MPIO DMK and FL100 won IF Design Awards of Germany, one of the most prestigious design awards in the world.
MPIO-DMK is one of the smallest audio players available on the market. MPIO- DMK is about the size of a lipstick or key holder, weighs only 29 grams and can be comfortably held inside the palm of your hand, latched on the provided belt-clip or worn around the user neck as a necklace to allow users to enjoy over 2 hours (128MB) of music.
One of Digitalway’s new models MPIO- FL100 is 128/256MB MP3/WMA player, voice recorder, portable data storage, FM radio, and is fully expandable with MMC or SD cards. All these features are crammed into a package which is only slightly larger than a matchbox.
Digitalway also showed other 5 new models that are the latest additions to the growing MP3 player market. Digitalway proudly introduced the new MPIO-FD100 with great functions such as MP3/WMA decoder, FM radio, FM radio recorder, voice recorder, 24 hours playback with one AA battery. MPIO- MPIO-CL100, a multi format digital audio CD player with FM radio tuner has only 17 mm depth with multi language supporting remote controller. MPIO-SP600 is another newest addition to MPIO lines with great features. Digitalway’s Europe Branch, MPIO-PEROS Gmbh, produced this new addition in Germany. Another new product, MPIO-FY100 was exhibited.
A unique product showed at the CES2003 was MPIO-HD200 with hard drive memory up to 20 GB.
Digitalway’s models are all multi formats supporting with bigger internal memory up to 256MB and have memory expansion with smart media card (SMC) and/or MMC/SD Card. Also they have LED back lighting with over 30 different world language supporting LCD for music title.
Another great feature of Digitalway’s new MPIO products is firmware upgrade by end users via Internet. Users can get download all kinds of firmware from www.mpio.com and upgrade their MPIO products by themselves.
MPIO- DMG and MPIO-DMG Plus with functions of portable multi format (MP3/WMA) player, voice recorder, and digital camera device is also exhibited. Digitalway has invented Digital Still Camera integrated MP3 players for the first time in the world and has the worldwide patent for it. MPIO-DMG and MPIO-DMB are available products with digital/PC dual camera module. Other products exhibited at the CES 2003 are outstanding with their remarkable functions and technology; MPIO-DME with remote control plays over 30 hours with one AA battery, MPIO-DMB Plus which was a winner of CEBIT 2002 hit product by German FOCUS magazine, is equipped with many functions such as MP3 decoder, encoder, FM tuner, voice recorder, multi language supporting LCD and more.
For more information, please visit our web site www.mpio.com / www.digitalwayinc.com / www.buydigitalway.com
About Digitalway
Digitalway is a leader in bringing innovative digital audio and multimedia devices to the consumer market. Founded by a pioneer in the MP3 industry, Digitalway is dedicated to providing leading-edge products to OEM's, distributors and end users. Digitalway started MP3 player development in July 1998 and grew to become the No.1 digital audio player manufacturer in the world. As the OEM to Samsung Electronics (Yepp) and RFC (Jazpiper), Digitalway grew into one of the world's largest manufacturers and has earned a reputation for the highest quality. In Asia including Japan, Korea and China, Digitalway's products are recorded as No.1 selling digital audio products. Worldwide brand market share is reported as 20%. (as of June 2002. Business Week)
Digitalway's technologies include portable music players, digital voice recorders, multi function digital still cameras, MP3 encoders and multi-function hybrid digital music devices. Digitalway has a hardware/software R&D center, industrial design team, four manufacturing factories, administrative organizations, and foreign subsidiary companies in U.S.A.-
Digitalway, Inc. San Diego, California, U.S.A., China - Digitalway (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Shanghai, China, and Germany - MPIO-Peros GmbH, Schwarzenfeld, Germany. For more information on Digitalway, please visit: www.digitalway.co.kr or www.mpio.com.
US PR Contact: For more information about Digitalway or any of its products, please contact:
Christine Fullerton / Media Perspectives christine@mediaperspectives.com
USA Branch: Digitalway, Inc.
6540 Lusk Blvd. Suite C116 San Diego, CA 92121 U.S.A
www.digitalwayinc.com / www.buympio.com Tel: 858.554.1330 Fax: 858.554.1370
PR Contact:
Anna Kim Strategy & PR Team Manager Digitalway Co., Ltd. Tel: 82-31-788-7223 Fax: 82-31-788-7240 Mobile: 82-11-9018-7802 anna@digitalway.co.kr Jenny Kim Strategy & PR Staff Digitalway Co., Ltd. Tel: 82-31-788-7291 Fax: 82-31-788-7240 jenny@digitalway.co.kr
HD 100 was at CES. No one saw it????? eom
Gilgamash Link with picture posted in english! eom
Found it! Link and PICTURE!
http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/main_news_search.cfm?NewsID=5882
Gilgamash That one is flash based The HD (hard drive) 100 is ours! It was at CES. You guys did not see it?
"Unit pricing starting at less than $10 (USD) for 10,000-piece quantities".
How can you compete with that and make money??????
Motorola Shortens Design Time for Next-Generation Portable Audio Devices
New Reference Design Sets Industry Benchmark for Power Management
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Motorola, Inc.'s (NYSE: MOT) Semiconductor Products Sector is now offering a programmable reference design engineered to provide greater flexibility and faster time to market for portable audio applications.
The reference design should help manufacturers quickly deliver competitively priced, high-performance audio devices to retail shelves by the end of this year.
The reference design is driven by Motorola's SCF5249 audio controller and combines the music decoding capability of a digital signal processor (DSP) with the file system management capabilities of a microcontroller into a single chip. This configuration lowers system costs by reducing the number of components from two chips to one. It also can decrease power consumption up to 25 percent.
Audio devices developed using the new reference design can benefit from a new level of power management. The SCF5249 raises the industry benchmark of battery life from the current standard of approximately 30 hours to an anticipated life of nearly 40 hours. This is accomplished through highly optimized software code that drives the ability to dynamically change the core operating frequency depending upon the level of performance needed.
The SCF5249 supports various decoder formats, including CD-ROM, flash and hard drive. This flexibility helps manufacturers by providing one platform from which they can build various personal music players, like portable MP3 and CD-ROM. The support of various decoder formats also minimizes engineering work required, helping manufacturers get their audio products into consumers' hands faster.
Systems built from the reference design should support multiple music formats, such as MP3, WMA (Windows Music Access) and AAC (Advanced Audio Coding). These systems can include next-generation capabilities as demands dictate, such as enabling consumers to upgrade to new formats after purchase.
Motorola is partnering with Arrow Optek, an independent design house in Nan Shan, China, to offer the ready-to-build reference design with the SCF5249. Motorola also offers its own reference design for independent development of audio systems with advanced MP3 player features.
"Consumer demand for high-capacity, low-cost audio electronics is rising and manufacturers are searching for ways to increase functionality and reduce system costs without sacrificing power," said John Hansen,Motorola's Digital Audio,Radio and Telematics director of marketing" Our reference designs can help manufacturers get started today in developing the products consumers will be enthused to see at their favorite stores during the 2003 holiday season."
The audio reference design is based on Motorola's ColdFire architecture and includes schematics, an applications note and source code for customizable modules.
SC5249 Features
The SCF5249 and associated software development platform integrates advanced features designed to dramatically boost performance and simplify system design.
These features include:
File management and music decoders operate from a single ColdFire(R)
32-bit core to allow support for multiple decoder formats and multiple file formats. Consumers can simply "drag and drop" to place music on a disc with no waste of available disc space by finalizing an incomplete disc.
An integrated synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM)
controller allows fast, easy access to external memories. This is useful for advanced features like shock protection. The cost and time supported to add shock protection is determined by the amount of SDRAM added to the system.
A flash media interface for use in portable product applications where audio is stored in flash media, such as multimedia cards and compact flash cards.
Pricing and Availability
The SCF5249 is available from Motorola with suggested list unit pricing starting at less than $10 (USD) for 10,000-piece quantities. The Arrow Optek reference design is available immediately.
For more information on its SCF5249 reference design contact: Li Ping, CEO of Optek Electronics Corp.at leeping@optek.com.cn or (86) 0755-2651-0786.
About Motorola Semiconductors
As the world's #1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's
Semiconductor Products Sector creates DigitalDNA(TM) system-on-chip solutions for a connected world. Our strong focus on wireless communications and networking enables customers to develop smarter, simpler, safer and synchronized products for the person, work team, home and automobile.
Motorola's worldwide semiconductor sales were $4.8 billion (USD) in 2002.
For more information please visit http://www.motorola.com/semiconductors
About Motorola
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is a global leader in providing integrated communications and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2002 were $26.7 billion. Motorola is a global corporate citizen dedicated to ethical business practices and pioneering important technologies that make things smarter and life better for people, honored traditions that began when the company was founded 75 years ago this year.
For more information, please visit: http://www.motorola.com/
Reader Inquiry Response
Motorola SPS
P.O. Box 17927
Denver, CO 80217 USA
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
Motorola's Symphony(TM) Digital Audio Technology Doubles its Performance
Sunday February 9, 11:27 pm ET
DSP56371 is Expected to Increase Power Efficiency and Decrease Costs for Audio Device Manufacturers
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Motorola, Inc.'s (NYSE: MOT - News) Semiconductor Products Sector is now offering its next-generation, 24-bit digital signal processor (DSP) optimized for professional and consumer audio electronic applications. The DSP56371 doubles the level of performance and provides more on-chip memory than previous members of the Symphony(TM) digital audio DSP family, helping to simplify systems design and drive down costs by creating a smaller, more cost-effective system.
(Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020307/MOTLOGO)
Targeted at audio/video (AV) receivers, home theaters, surround sound decoders, mini stereo systems, digital TV audio systems and automotive audio systems, the DSP56371 is designed to meet the demands of audio electronics system designers by supporting the latest generation decoders, such as Dolby®, THX® and DTS®, among others.
The DSP56371 is capable of running delay management, bass management and DTS96/24 while using less than half of the DSP's computing capability. This enables designers to add system enhancements that the discerning audio consumer now expects. The performance increase is made possible through the use of a higher core frequency, fewer memory wait states, a larger amount of on-chip static random access memory (SRAM) and the addition of an Enhanced Filter Coprocessor (EFCOP). By removing the need for external high-speed SRAM and making smaller, less complex boards, the DSP56371 is performance-rich and cost-effective.
Low power usage is always a priority in the audio environment and the DSP56371 delivers. It consumes very little power, typically 119 milliwatts. System power savings are also achieved by eliminating the hundreds of milliwatts of power needed by the external SRAM.
In addition, the chip includes two low-power modes -- stop and wait -- that can further reduce power requirements. In 'wait' mode, the core is shut down but the peripherals and interrupt controller continue to operate. In 'stop' mode, a majority of the circuitry is shut down to achieve a very low power consumption rate.
The DSP56371 represents the latest achievement for Motorola's audio architecture evolution, a family of chips that began with the 56000 core and the 56300 series. While it remains software-compatible with the previous generation 5636x family, Motorola's advanced system-on-chip design methodology allows these chips to meet changing market needs by enabling the rapid development of new devices with enhanced features. The next step in this evolution will be the introduction of another member of the DSP5637X family, later this year.
"Market leaders continue to use our devices for professional systems such as recording studios, movie theatres and CD mastering, as well as consumer AV systems, headphones, home theaters and car radios," said Bill Pfaff, vice president and general manager of Motorola's Digital Audio, Radio and Telematics. "The DSP5637x family continues the standard Motorola set with its original Symphony digital audio DSPs in the 5636x family. It marks a major step forward in digital audio processing because it enables manufacturers to design in superior sound quality into their applications and reduce system costs."
Features and Benefits
Customers can take advantage of more digital audio algorithms at the same time via an on-chip execution unit. Memory and peripheral operate independently and in parallel with the other units through a sophisticated bus system.
Flexible programmability means new features may be integrated much more quickly via software instead of waiting for new silicon, allowing equipment manufacturers faster development of new models and faster time-to-market.
On-chip memory needed for most digital audio applications is integrated and supports all major multi-channel decoding standards. The chip is fully compatible with the DSP5636x family's open software architecture, which makes software programming and customization easy. 88K words of RAM, upgrading the 23K words memory of the previous generation of the DSP5636x series, allowing elimination of external SRAM memory. 120K words of ROM, integrating Motorola and third party supplied decoders.
An integrated Sony Philips Digital Interface receiver/transmitter (SPDIF RX/TX) that reduces the connection cost to DVD players and other digital audio equipment.
An enhanced Filter CoProcessor (EFCOP) with dedicated FIR and IIR Filter engine, allowing the core to perform other functions concurrently.
Retains compatibility with DSP5636x peripherals.
The DSP56371 supports industry standard digital decoders such as Dolby Digital, Digital Theater Systems (DTS)®, DTS-ES (matrix and discrete), DTS 96/24 and AAC Multichannel.
The open software architecture of devices in the DSP5637x family enable the easy addition of customer-defined,
Motorola and third-party post- processing features. These include: bass management, 3D virtual sound, Lucasfilm(TM) THX Surround EX(TM), Lucasfilm THX Ultra 2(TM), Dolby Digital Surround EX(TM), Dolby Pro Logic II®, DTS Neo: 6(TM), Dolby Headphone(TM), Dolby Virtual Speaker(TM), HDCD®, Waves MaxxBass(TM), SRS Circle Surround(TM), Qsurround(TM), sound field processing, subwoofer management, advanced equalization and others.
Pricing and Availability
Samples and development tools for the DSP56371 are expected to be available in late first quarter, 2003, with production expected to begin in third quarter of this year. The DSP56371 is priced at $9.95(USD) (suggested list price) for 100,000-unit quantities. Samples of the second member of the DSP5637x family are expected to be available during the second half of 2003; pricing will be made available at that time.
About Motorola Semiconductors
As the world's #1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector creates DigitalDNA(TM) system-on-chip solutions for a connected world. Our strong focus on wireless communications and networking enables customers to develop smarter, simpler, safer and synchronized products for the person, work team, home and automobile. Motorola's worldwide semiconductor sales were $4.8 billion (USD) in 2002. For more information please visit www.motorola.com/semiconductors.
About Motorola
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT - News) is a global leader in providing integrated communications and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2002 were $26.7 billion. Motorola is a global corporate citizen dedicated to ethical business practices and pioneering important technologies that make things smarter and life better for people, honored traditions that began when the company was founded 75 years ago this year. For more information, please visit: www.motorola.com
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
Motorola Shortens Design Time for Next-Generation Portable Audio Devices
New Reference Design Sets Industry Benchmark for Power Management
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Motorola, Inc.'s (NYSE: MOT) Semiconductor Products Sector is now offering a programmable reference design engineered to provide greater flexibility and faster time to market for portable audio applications.
The reference design should help manufacturers quickly deliver competitively priced, high-performance audio devices to retail shelves by the end of this year.
The reference design is driven by Motorola's SCF5249 audio controller and combines the music decoding capability of a digital signal processor (DSP) with the file system management capabilities of a microcontroller into a single chip. This configuration lowers system costs by reducing the number of
components from two chips to one. It also can decrease power consumption up to 25 percent.
Audio devices developed using the new reference design can benefit from a new level of power management. The SCF5249 raises the industry benchmark of battery life from the current standard of approximately 30 hours to an anticipated life of nearly 40 hours. This is accomplished through highly
optimized software code that drives the ability to dynamically change the core operating frequency depending upon the level of performance needed.
The SCF5249 supports various decoder formats, including CD-ROM, flash and hard drive. This flexibility helps manufacturers by providing one platform from which they can build various personal music players, like portable MP3 and CD-ROM. The support of various decoder formats also minimizes engineering
work required, helping manufacturers get their audio products into consumers' hands faster.
Systems built from the reference design should support multiple music formats, such as MP3, WMA (Windows Music Access) and AAC (Advanced Audio Coding). These systems can include next-generation capabilities as demands dictate, such as enabling consumers to upgrade to new formats after purchase.
Motorola is partnering with Arrow Optek, an independent design house in Nan Shan, China, to offer the ready-to-build reference design with the SCF5249. Motorola also offers its own reference design for independent development of audio systems with advanced MP3 player features.
"Consumer demand for high-capacity, low-cost audio electronics is rising and manufacturers are searching for ways to increase functionality and reduce system costs without sacrificing power," said John Hansen, Motorola's Digital Audio, Radio and Telematics director of marketing. "Our reference designs can
help manufacturers get started today in developing the products consumers will be enthused to see at their favorite stores during the 2003 holiday season."
The audio reference design is based on Motorola's ColdFire architecture and includes schematics, an applications note and source code for customizable modules.
SC5249 Features
The SCF5249 and associated software development platform integrates advanced features designed to dramatically boost performance and simplify system design.
These features include:
File management and music decoders operate from a single ColdFire(R)
32-bit core to allow support for multiple decoder formats and multiple file formats. Consumers can simply "drag and drop" to place music on a disc with no waste of available disc space by finalizing an incomplete disc.
An integrated synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM)
controller allows fast, easy access to external memories. This is useful for advanced features like shock protection. The cost and time supported to add shock protection is determined by the amount of SDRAM added to the system.
A flash media interface for use in portable product applications where audio is stored in flash media, such as multimedia cards and compact flash cards.
Pricing and Availability
T
The SCF5249 is available from Motorola with suggested list unit pricing starting at less than $10 (USD) for 10,000-piece quantities. The Arrow Optek reference design is available immediately.
For more information on its
SCF5249 reference design contact: Li Ping, CEO of Optek Electronics Corp. at leeping@optek.com.cn or (86) 0755-2651-0786.
About Motorola Semiconductors
As the world's #1 producer of embedded processors, Motorola's
Semiconductor Products Sector creates DigitalDNA(TM) system-on-chip solutions for a connected world. Our strong focus on wireless communications and networking enables customers to develop smarter, simpler, safer and synchronized products for the person, work team, home and automobile.
Motorola's worldwide semiconductor sales were $4.8 billion (USD) in 2002.
For more information please visit http://www.motorola.com/semiconductors
About Motorola
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is a global leader in providing integrated communications and embedded electronic solutions. Sales in 2002 were $26.7 billion. Motorola is a global corporate citizen dedicated to ethical business practices and pioneering important technologies that make things smarter and life better for people, honored traditions that began when the
company was founded 75 years ago this year.
For more information, please visit: http://www.motorola.com/
Reader Inquiry Response
Motorola SPS
P.O. Box 17927
Denver, CO 80217 USA
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
Matsushita Avionics Systems Corporation
http://www.mascorp.com/pro_emt.aspx
moxa1
Not only is there a price difference, but according to Bantam, the Toshiba 1.8 drive production has been tied up by Apple. That is now changing...........
Electronics exporters push premium goods
Local consumer electronics and appliance manufacturers plan to increase sales this year by strategically expanding exports of premium products that will net higher profits and therefore improve their brand image and overall sales abroad.
LG Electronics said that it plans on making inroads into European markets with its line of upscale electronics such as digital televisions, mobile phones and two-door refrigerators to increase their share of the local premium appliance market to 90 percent this year.
The firm hopes to double its sales of PDP-TVs in Europe to 80,000 units from the 40,000 units sold last year. It will also introduce 30-inch screened LCD-TVs to their markets, with a goal of selling over 150,000 units.
LG said that its 7kg-class Drum washing machines are currently selling for $1,100 in Spain and the United Kingdom, which is about 10 percent higher than in other markets. LG expects to sell 110,000 units of two-door refrigerators, double last year's volume of 56,000 units.
The company also has high expectations in sales of its latest color-screened mobile phones, which are already in high demand in markets like Russia and Italy after the model's launch last October.
Samsung Electronics also plans to increase its market share of premium merchandise in total exports to about 20 to 30 percent in every product category.
The nation's largest consumer electronics manufacturer succeeded in doubling exports of its two-door refrigerators and deluxe air conditioners last year. Last year, Samsung's sales of PDP-TVs increased 21-fold while their LCD-TV sales shot up 76-fold.
Daewoo Electronics also did well last year, with PDP-TV shipments growing 200 percent, 50-inch HDTVs by 300 percent and DVD Combos by 100 percent. It plans to introduce new products like 60-inch LCD projection TVs, 47-inch projection TVs, DVD players and 34-liter microwaves.
Domestic demand for premium items are ballooning as well, with their share in total sales reaching 25 percent for LG Electronics and 20 to 30 percent for Samsung Electronics.
Samsung said that it will work to raise the proportion to between 30 and 50 percent this year.
(mihui@koreaherald.co.kr)
2003.02.08
SONG IFE
Delta is outfitting a fleet of 36 199-seat Boeing 757s that will fly initially on Northeast-to-Florida routes with fares starting at $79 each way.
While service begins April 15, the 24 channels of satellite TV won't begin until installations are complete in October under the deal with Matsushita Avionics Systems and EchoStar Communications.
The TV will be free, but premium services such as movies will cost extra. When the system is fully operational by next year, features will include:
Digital MP3 audio. Some foreign carriers already have it. On Singapore Airlines, passengers can create their own play lists from cuts on 50 albums.
Pay-per-view movies. The seat-back installation includes the ability to swipe a credit card to pay for movies or special programming.
Interactive games. Passengers will be able to compete with each other on trivia questions using the system's touch-screen technology.
Interactive map. Fliers will be able to follow the progress of their flight on a map display. The view screen will zoom in or out and include information on destination cities or those along the way.
On-board shopping. In the next phase, fliers will be able to buy products that they view on the screen. The system might be like the one offered by London-based FlightStore, which has been on European carriers Swiss and Lauda Air.
On-board Internet is under consideration on Song, as well.
"This is an aggressive position that Song is taking," says Steve Quimby, sales director for Matsushita Avionics. "This is bringing a wide-body experience to a narrow-body plane."
In developing its entertainment, Song hopes to trump JetBlue, which has seen so much success with its seat-back satellite television system that it bought the provider, LiveTV, in part to keep the system away from rivals.
JetBlue is considering whether to expand its 24 channels to 36, offer video-on-demand, Internet connections or shopping services. "We're monitoring our options," spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones says.
The only other airline with LiveTV is Frontier, which has outfitted 11 of 37 planes so far and charges $5. "Customers love it," spokeswoman Tracey Kelly says.
We made money on Austonias O-1000 purchase!Thanks eom
Windows Media Player 9 Series Shatters Jukebox Download Records With 14 Million Downloads Worldwide in First Month
Nearly 9 Out of 10 Users Polled Cited Improved Audio Quality, Fast Streaming and Improved Player Performance as Key Areas of Satisfaction; Windows Movie Maker 2 Tallies Over 3 Million Downloads in First 30 Days
REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp (Nasdaq:MSFT) today released download statistics that show record-breaking consumer demand for the new Microsoft(R) Windows Media(R) Player 9 Series and Windows(R) Movie Maker 2 for Windows XP in their first month of availability. 14 million downloads of Windows Media Player 9 Series were recorded worldwide in just 30 days -- a rate of over 5 downloads every second. This shatters the previous record for downloads of digital music jukebox software, held by Windows Media Player 7 -- nearly doubling the number of downloads in the first 30 days. Based on data unveiled today, a key driver behind this momentum is the high level of customer satisfaction.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO )
"These kinds of download volumes are truly amazing. Clearly the high satisfaction expressed by beta users of Windows Media Player 9 Series has resulted in massive interest and adoption," said Dave Fester, general manager of the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft. "This kind of response shows the breakthrough new digital media experiences we designed for Windows XP have clearly struck a chord with our customers around the world."
High Customer Satisfaction Driving Record Uptake
Proving Windows Media Player 9 meets its design goals for fast and flexible playback, new research from Microsoft indicates the rapid uptake for the new player has been driven by several key improvements based on customer satisfaction. In a recent study of more than 1,600 Windows Media Player 9 Series beta users, completed in November 2002, users of individual features in Windows Media Player 9 Series indicated the following:
-- Nearly 9 out 10 users of the individual features expressed their satisfaction with innovations such as improved audio quality, new Fast
Streaming technology that minimizes buffering, and player performance improvements.
-- Nearly 8 out of 10 users of the individual features indicated their satisfaction with the new Mini-Player mode, new audio effects such as crossfading and volume leveling and the new Smart Jukebox capabilities.
These capabilities include Auto Info, which can automatically update a music collection's metadata information; Auto-playlists, which can create custom music mixes automatically; and new automatic song ratings based on a user's music-listening habits.
Windows Movie Maker 2 Hits 3 Million Downloads
Windows Movie Maker 2 for Windows XP, for easy editing and sharing of video, was also introduced last month and embraced by consumers at an unprecedented rate, hitting over 3 million downloads worldwide.
Built on state-of-the-art technology innovations including Windows Media Audio and Video 9 and home video analysis technology from Microsoft Research, Windows Movie Maker 2 offers Windows XP customers dramatic improvements to remove complexity and confusion from home video editing. New breakthroughs such as AutoMovie allow even new users to create a home video with music, professional-looking titles and transitions, in just minutes. Windows Movie Maker 2 also offers deep and powerful new features with more than 130 new kinds of video effects, titles and transitions.
Availability
The latest version of Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows XP is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/experiences/ and http://windowsmedia.com/.
The latest version of Windows Movie Maker 2 for Windows XP is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/experiences/ or at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.
NOTE: Microsoft, Windows Media and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
CO: Microsoft Corp.
ST: Washington
SU: SVY
http://www.prnewswire.com
02/06/2003 09:00 EST
Telematics and M2M Worth US$178bn by 2007 - Who Will Benefit?
Thursday February 6, 8:04 am ET
LONDON, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The opportunities offered by Telematics and M2M are endless. Automotive, fleet and freight, utilities, oil & gas, offices, homes, vending and POS are among the many application areas. ARC Group expects the worldwide solutions market to be worth in excess of US$100bn by 2007. In addition, operator revenues worldwide from the transport of Telematics data alone will rise from US$3.5bn in 2002 to US$78bn by 2007. ARC Group's new report: Increasing Profitability with Telematics & M2M demonstrates how profitability can be achieved despite a challenging business environment fraught with continually shrinking margins.
Many mobile operators, including NTT DoCoMo in Japan, are placing great emphasis on Telematics & M2M. It is one of the three themes underpinning the company's future strategy, and the company has already helped increase vending operators' profits by 70% through the introduction of cashless payment. In the same vein, Teclion has cut service visits by 50% by introducing remote monitoring. Nissan saves 40% on sales costs by providing wireless access to pricing and inventory information. And HBOC reduced incorrect shipments by as much as 80% through the use of wireless in their warehouses.
Report authors Lars Odlen and Ifeoma Nwoyeocha emphasise "what is exciting about Telematics and M2M is that its potential is huge and mostly unexploited." Person-to-person (P2P) communication is approaching saturation in many advanced market communication channels, both fixed and wireless. However, few machines are, as yet, connected.
The connected world is here and all will be affected by it -- consumers, suppliers, organisations or authorities. Telematics and M2M technology will change our lives and work as well as our society and legislative framework. As in any evolutionary change, the winners will be those that recognise and seize the new opportunities. The strongest value proposition for Telematics and M2M are the costs and consequences of not using them.
Notes to editors:
ARC Group (http://www.arcgroup.com) publishes in-depth strategic reports and provides consultancy on wireless internet, wireless technologies and infrastructure, digital broadcasting, broadband access, Telematics and optical communications.
For more information about this report, please contact:
Chrystelle Chalvin, Sales & Marketing Manager, ARC Group
Tel: +44 1932 266 917
chrystelle.chalvin@arcgroup.com
http://www.arcgroup.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: ARC Group
Everyone joins the party
By Ben Charny
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
February 6, 2003, 4:00 AM PT
This time last year, wireless networking was primarily just for laptops. By the end of 2003, about 15 other types of electronic gear will be capable of using the burgeoning technology.
Companies like Texas Instruments began the wireless migration to devices other than laptops by shrinking the necessary silicon small enough for even a cell phone's snug confines. That paved the way for printers, personal digital assistants and even the office staple white board to abandon cables in favor of the Wi-Fi standard.
Soon, television set-top boxes, MP3 players, camcorders and even digital cameras will shed their wires as well, and the list will only grow as manufacturers try to cash in on Wi-Fi's increasing popularity.
The wireless trend is accelerating so fast that some in the industry have been concerned that there aren't enough frequencies to accommodate the market. Tens of millions more devices ranging from TiVo's television boxes to Nokia's Wi-Fi cell phones will vie for limited airwaves.
"The industry could run out of spectrum," Cahners In-Stat analyst Allen Nogee said. The Federal Communications Commission is quietly considering use of the television broadcast spectrum by other wireless devices.
Some TV manufacturers are already in the wireless game themselves, trying to take advantage of newer and faster Wi-Fi networks. Toshiba plans to make wireless networking chips for televisions, stereos and DVDs, as well as for laptops and modems.
The chips are based on the wireless standard known as 802.11a, which creates a signal powerful enough to send cable or digital music signals from room to room, said Andrew Burt, Toshiba's wireless marketing director. The technology is five times faster than older generations of wireless networks based on the 802.11b standard.
"The high-speed data connection is definitely a requirement," Burt said.
New devices mean new companies entering the market, and some big ones at that. Both Microsoft, which is selling wireless networking equipment, and Motorola are interested in pushing Wi-Fi into new devices, said Ross Seymore of investment firm Deutsche Bank Securities.
"The addition of players of this caliber bodes well for continued growth in this market, which we expect to grow from 24 million units in 2002 to 40 million in 2003," Seymore wrote to clients.
As it expands into other devices, Wi-Fi will finally get a chance to show off its fastest networking speeds, which could win any download showdown with a wired connection. But it's rare to find any wireless network using the peak speed of 11 megabits per second; most of the 35 million such networks now in homes and offices use a maximum 1mbps Web connection.
"When the new generations of wireless networks that move at 54mbps come in, you'll be able to download a thousand MP3 files quicker than you would with a wire," said Ron Paciello, a representative for Intersil, one of the major Wi-Fi chipmakers.
At that point, proponents of the technology believe, there will be no stopping the momentum that has helped Wi-Fi beat out other networking standards, including Bluetooth, which is just as fast as its rival but works effectively only in distances of inches. Wi-Fi's networks can connect devices up to 300 feet apart.
From laptops to camcorders
The personal digital assistant was Wi-Fi's first frontier beyond laptops.
Most PDA makers have made it possible to connect a handheld wirelessly by creating a slot to house the graham-cracker-size Wi-Fi modem. PDAs from Toshiba and Intermec have embedded Wi-Fi technologies.
Personal computer owners are beginning to unwire their desktops using relatively primitive external modems. It won't be long before these devices are manufactured with Wi-Fi capabilities that are more efficient and powerful.
Cell phone maker Nokia added Wi-Fi into their devices to solve a digital dilemma. Downloading anything of any size to a cell phone is no easy feat for cell phone networks, which at their fastest can handle files at speeds of 144 kilobits per second. That's where Wi-Fi can be brought in for the "heavy lifting," Cahners In-Stat's Nogee said.
For instance, a cell phone could use Wi-Fi to download a huge document to a PC, which has far more computing power than a cell phone. "There is some very real potential to offloading some of the voice calls onto Wi-Fi," said Keith Waryas, a wireless analyst with IDC.
The camera is also going wireless. Wi-Fi technologies will be embedded in camcorders from Hitachi and a digital camera from IqinVision that are making their way to the market.
But Jupiter analyst Dylan Brooks doesn't think major camera manufacturers will jump headlong into the technology until the next generation of faster wireless networks become more widespread and drop in price. "Right now, you get much better performance, in general, hooking up cords for that camera," Brooks said.
Television manufacturers are going slowly as well, though Sharp's Aquos comes equipped with a Wi-Fi connection. Intersil's Paciello expects makers of TV accessories, like DVDs, to adopt Wi-Fi technologies for such features as video-on-demand.
"If you download a movie on your computer, do you want to watch it on your computer? Not if you have a TV," Paciello said. "You can use Wi-Fi to download it."
Companies including ViewSonic have used 802.11 standards to unwire "smart" displays, such as a portable screen for reading Internet material on the go.
Even without such new uses, the wireless trend will continue to steam ahead with technologies that are already on the market. Wi-Fi equipment makers D-Link and Linskys, for instance, will sell ways to unwire game players such as the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2.
"We're not going to slow down," Paciello said. "We have to take advantage of this momentum."
thank you for your interest to monolith.
2/5/2003 9:14:11 PM Pacific Standard Time
From: jhur@estarlab.com
Dear
First of all, thank you for your interest to monolith.
The monolith is a MP3 Music Player and Voice Recorder.
Main feature is as follows;
1.MP3 Player
2.Digital voice Recorder
3.Digital voice Messenger(*)
4.Removable Storage through USB Port in PC
5.Stopwatch
6.FM Radio
* Digital voice Messenger is a Automatic voice synthersizer for internet news, e-mail, etc on your PC.
Specifications
1.Digital Audio format : MP3 only
2.Storage capacity : 128 or 256MB (internal Flash Memory IC only)
3.Battery : AAA Type x 2 (OperatingTime : 22HRs)
4.Connection with PC : USB v1.1 Port
5.Demension : 38(W) X 77(H) X 17(D) mm
Thank you.
Yepp YP-900GT
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/peterlewis/0,15704,419455,00.html
Along a similar wavelength, there's Samsung's multi-talented Yepp YP-900GT, which can teach Apple's popular iPod a thing or three. Like the iPod, the YP-900GT ($430, on sale this month) stores its music on a hard disk--in this case a ten-gigabyte platter that can hold the equivalent of hundreds of CDs compressed in the MP3 or WMA formats. (A 20-gig version is expected in the second half of 2003.)
And here are some twists: One, it can also rip MP3 files directly from a CD player, bypassing a PC; two, it can beam those songs wirelessly to the FM radio in your car; three, it's a voice recorder.
Circuit City to cut 2,000 jobs
RICHMOND, Va. (Feb. 5) - Circuit City Stores Inc., the No. 2 electronics chain, Wednesday warned of a shortfall in quarterly earnings, and said it would cut 2,000 jobs or about 5 percent of its work force at a cost of $16 million to boost profits.
The chain, which ranks behind industry leader Best Buy Co. Inc., also said it will pay all store staff by the hour and end sales commissions as of Thursday -- a step one analyst said could hurt morale and sales.
Circuit City shares slumped to a 12-year low of $5.78, before ending 73 cents, or 11.08 percent, lower at $5.86 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Circuit City, along with its peers, is hurting as consumers hold back on spending amid worries about an Iraq war, unemployment and sluggish economic growth.
The retailer forecast fourth-quarter profit of 21 cents to 26 cents a share. Excluding one-time items, its estimates range from 35 cents to 40 cents a share, below the Thomson First Call consensus of 47 cents a share.
In January same-store sales, at outlets open at least a year, fell 2 percent from a year earlier, Circuit City Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Alan McCollough said in a conference call with analysts. Despite soft sales overall, demand for digital TVs, movie and video game software sales was holding up, he added.
The retailer said the new pay structure would save about $130 million in the year starting March 1. However, the change would also lower pretax profit for the year ending Feb. 28 by about $40 million, after severance and other one-time costs, and an expected disruption in sales, it said.
Circuit City said 1,800 jobs would be cut from its 626 stores across the United States, and its service center work force would be reduced by 200. The Richmond, Virginia-based company has 42,000 employees, of which about 16 percent are paid sales commissions, a company spokesman said.
Circuit City, which has struggled to reinvent itself since it stopped selling home appliances two years ago, also said it will spend as much as $150 million in the coming fiscal year to relocate up to 22 stores and remodel about another 200.
MOVING IN RIGHT DIRECTION?
Colin McGranahan, a Sanford Bernstein analyst, said the payroll changes and store overhauls were ''steps in the right direction'' that could help Circuit City compete effectively.
But Alan Rifkin, an analyst at Lehman Brothers, said low staff morale as a result of pay cuts could disrupt selling and customer service in the near term.
''It's quite possible that the top (Circuit City) sales people will be disenchanted as they see their net pay decline on an annual basis,'' he said. He added that Circuit City needed to close as many as 75 stores, a step the retailer said it was not contemplating.
CEO McCollough said Circuit City's latest store remodeling would involve standardizing fixtures and making merchandise easily accessible to customers.
Circuit City, which has spent about $70 million on store revamps over the past two years, recently finished upgrading lighting and moving video products into prominent areas at 301 stores.
''Beyond fiscal 2004, we expect to continue incurring costs, especially for relocations and remodels,'' the retailer said. But it noted that customer service initiatives and savings from the new pay structure should help soften the blow.
Circuit City and rival Best Buy's market turf is getting crowded as mass merchants like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. are luring shoppers with cheap DVD players, movies and stereos.
Reut16:06 02-05-03
New Xeon chip makes a surprise entrance
By John G. Spooner
Special to ZDNet News
February 5, 2003, 7:22 AM PT
Intel's 3.06GHz Xeon chip has quietly made its way into new workstations.
Though Intel has yet to introduce the new processor aimed at workstations and servers, major manufacturers such as Dell Computer and Hewlett-Packard have begun advertising it in systems on their Web sites.
The 3.06GHz chip, expected to launch later this quarter, will offer Intel's fastest clock speed in its Xeon. It follows the release of the chipmaker's 2.6GHz, 2.66GHz and 2.8GHz Xeon chips in September and new supporting chipsets in November.
On Wednesday, Dell and HP were each advertising a pair of workstations fitted with the new chip.
Workstations are powerful desktop computers created for jobs such as the computer-aided design of automobiles or airplanes. The machines represent a fairly small, but often profitable segment of the business PC market.
The less-expensive varieties of these machines use processors such as the new Xeon chip or Athlon chips from Advanced Micro Devices and run Microsoft Windows or the Linux operating systems. Higher-priced, and often higher-performance, workstations run proprietary chips and operating systems from their manufacturers. Some workstations from IBM and HP, for example, use the companies' own PowerPC or PA-RISC processors and run their in-house brands of Unix.
The upcoming Xeon is part of Dell's Precision 450 and Precision 650 workstation models. The 3.06GHz chip is a $200 upgrade over a 2.8GHz Xeon in Dell's Precision 450, bumping the most basic configuration of that machine from $2,037 to $2,237, according to Dell's site.
HP is also advertising the chip in two workstation models, its HP xw6000 and HP xw8000.
The 3.06GHz chip is a $400 upgrade from the 2.8GHz Xeon in HP's xw8000, pushing the least-expensive configuration of that model from $2,046 to $2,446, according to HP's site. The xw6000 is advertised online as including the new Xeon, although the option is missing from HP's configuration tool.
When it is officially introduced, Intel is expected to offer two versions of the new Xeon chip, a 3GHz and a 3.06GHz. The main difference between the two chips, aside from their clock speed, will be their bus speeds. The bus, a bridge that carries data between the chip and components such as the chipset and memory inside a computer, will run at 400MHz on the 3GHz and 533MHz on the 3.06GHz.
The new chips are expected to coast about $700 each.
The new Xeon chip will be aimed at single and dual processor workstations and servers; Intel also offers the Xeon MP chip for servers with four or more processors.